Neoperla dundoana, Zwick & Zwick, 2023

Zwick, Peter & Zwick, Andreas, 2023, Revision of the African Neoperla Needham, 1905 (Plecoptera: Perlidae: Perlinae) based on morphological and molecular data, Zootaxa 5316 (1), pp. 1-194 : 171-173

81. Neoperla dundoana n. sp.

( Figs. 468–469 , 485 )

Type material: Republic of Angola, holotype ♀, Dundo [7°22’N, 20°49’E], light trap, 30/ 31.12.1973, Barros- Machado. ( SMNS, slide Z16.180, NEOP268 , Figs. 467–468 ) .

Paratypes: 1 J (Slide Z 16.181; NEOP267 ), same data as holotype .

Additional paratype females and presumed males: Republic of Angola: 4 paratype ♀ (including: Z17.79), 6 presumed ♁: ANG. 3158.7. Dundo, piège lumineux 30./31. XII. 53 (L); 1♁: ANG. 230. Dundo, Piège lumineux 5.XII.47 (M) (slide Z18.03); 2♁: ANG. 3126.2 Dundo XI.48 (M) slide Z16.181; FOTOS; 2♁: Republic of Angola , Dundo, Piège lumineux VIII.53 Luna de Carvalho (slides Z17.81, 18.01); 1♁: ANG. 3330.12. Dundo XI.53 (L) (all gift P. Brinck, SMNS) .

Additional material: Republic of Zimbabwe, 1♀: C. N. Smithers \ Shawanoe [Shainowe] R. S. R. 17/6/56 (pinned, with pinned egg-slide; SMNS) .

Habitus. WL 9.8–11.5mm in males, 11.8–13.7mm in females. Resembles N. leroiana , yellowish, a dark spot across ocelli. Wings almost clear. Tibiae brown, antenna and cercus at least distally brownish.

Male ( Fig. 485 ). Very similar to N. leroiana , but in N. dundoana n. sp. the process on T8 is triangular and variably pointed. The size decline of spines in the lateral rows on the endophallus is gradual, not as abrupt as in N. leroiana .

Female ( Fig. 469 ). The barely projecting to slightly recessed brown nail in the caudal edge of S8 is usually wider than long, distally often sinuous or slightly excavate. It has no or indistinct crests and is not connected to the floor of the unmodified vagina. The SSt forms 2–4 scaly rings.

Egg ( Fig. 468 ). Shape and size variable, mostly it is a plump ovoid, both poles wide. The striae are straight, their precise number is not known. Each of the narrow sulci with two regular lines of micropunctures which diverge for the micropyles. The short collar has one ring of cells, the anchor cavity is a short wide funnel, the anchor is mushroom-shaped. Ends of sulci are widened and may form deep grooves on top of the wide rounded operculum; this configuration was not observed in the two related taxa.

DNA ( Figs. 491–492 , 497). The female holotype and male paratype from Angola were sequenced for the COX1 DNA barcode fragment (holotype) and with the genome-skimming approach (paratype). While the DNA sequence from the holotype is only partial (312bp), it matches perfectly the paratype’s 10,998bp of mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. Accordingly, the monophyly of the species is maximally supported (100/100/100), as is support for the sister relationship to N. arambourgana Navás (100/100/100).

Notes. The three species in the arambourgan a-complex are confusingly similar but each exhibits a unique combination of structural details (see taxonomic keys). Only N. dundoana n. sp. has straight (instead of levogyrous) egg striae which permits identification of females, despite their variable nails on S8. Recognition of the three species in the complex is supported by molecular evidence and is in line with the different ranges of the three taxa: N. leroiana is widespread in most of the Ethiopian region, N. arambourgana occurs on Mt Kenya and southwest to tributaries of the Congo River draining mountains west of the Great Rift Valley, and N. dundoana n. sp. occurs south of the Kasai River to mountains in northern Angola.

Etymology. The name is a Latinised adjective referring to the township of Dundo where several specimens were taken.

Figures

FIGURE 491. Codon-model maximum likelihood phylogram based on 83 largely complete mitochondrial genome sequences only (mt-NT). Statistical support values (SH-aLRT, UFBoot) from this and other analyses summarised by squares as explained in the figure. Terminal labels include information on the species, type status, gender, originating country, unique sequence identifier (NEOP###), sequencing approach and total basepairs of 13 mitochondrial, protein-coding genes. Clades of particular interest highlighted with colours that correspond to the clades in other trees. HT = holotype; PT = paratype; PCR = Polymerase Chaine Reaction; WGS = Whole Genome Shotgun.

FIGURE 492. Simplified overview of codon-model maximum likelihood phylogram based on 356 mitochondrial genome and COX1 DNA barcode sequences (all-NT). Terminal labels include information on the species only. Clades of particular interest highlighted with colours that correspond to the clades in other trees. The full tree is shown in Figs 493-498.

FIGURES 466–476. females in the Neoperla leroiana cluster, eggs and diagrammatic genital situs to similar sizes, from photographs: N. arambourgana Navás: 466, egg of ♀ from Kama (D. R. Congo; NEOP272); 467, ♀ from Popokabaka (D. R. Congo, NEOP271). N. dundoana n. sp.: 468, 469, egg and genital situs of HT (Dundo, Z16.180, NEOP268). Neoperla leroiana Klapálek: 470, egg of ♀ from Ngonlutu, Togo; ♀ genital situs: 471, Xandel, Angola; 472, Odzala N. P.; 473, Guinea, Konkouré à Linsan; 474, Central Afr. Rep., Bayanga (NEOP281); 475, Victoria Falls (NEOP279); 476, SEM of anchor pole of female from Nigeria (courtesy MPI of Limnology, Pl̂n).

FIGURES 477–485. Male Neoperla leroiana and N. dundoana: N. leroiana Klapálek: 477, 478, abdominal tip of lectotype in dorsal and lateral views (modified from Klapálek 1911); 479, 480, the same of a Ghanaan specimen (modified from Zwick 1973a); 481, tip of T8-process of another Ghanaan specimen; 482, penis with largely everted endophallus, ♁ from Togo, Tététou; 483, intentionally broken penis of another ♁ from Tététou showing details of endophallus, with enlarged detail; 484, endophallus base of ♁ from Ghana, R. Menu (NEOP277). 485, N. dundoana, endophallus base of ♁ from Dundo (NEOP267).